Trial by Fire
by Omoni
Summary: A crossover request from a dear friend. What happens when the Dangerous Ladies of A:TLA meet the Dramata of Slayers.


_Writer's Note: I've never done a crossover before, but The Flowergirl requested this one and it was too delicious to pass up, so I wrote it. My two favourite fandoms, together in one place, with fighting? What else could a girl as for? But it IS a crossover, so...yeah. Uh, that's all._

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There had been rumours of her, rumours about a strange firebender with hair the same colour as the flames she threw carelessly. She was a legend, a kind of myth that most people were quick to dismiss as a spooky story told to scare their kids. Except that the story wasn't old, nor was it meant to be scary...more like a warning to those who travelled.

Stories started popping up about her about four years ago. The first ever recorded was from a miner who had caught sight of her clawing her way out of the very mines he frequented, looking scared, confused, and furious. He was so terrified he went to the nearest temple and started questioning if Agni was actually a _female_, rather than sexless.

Most dismissed this, until more and more these sightings of the so-called "Female Agni" became common. Most came from countrymen who stumbled upon the woman standing proudly over what looked like the remains of highwaymen camps or bandit camps.

And now, it looked like she was being sighted again, only by more...coherent sources.

"Huh," Mai said, her hands in her sleeves, one eyebrow raised. "Look at that."

"Wooow," Ty Lee breathed out, her eyes huge. "Look at that hair. So the rumours _are_ true."

The figure before them stood calmly, her back to them, her hair and cloak rustling slightly in the minute breeze. The flames flickered, shining through the inky black of the night.

Azula sighed, looking at her nails. "How careless. Any bender worth their salt wouldn't be so frivolous with their fire."

Ty Lee took a few steps forward towards the sight, then hesitated, looking back at Azula. "We should check it out…shouldn't we?"

"Ugh, why bother?" Mai wondered. "We're all probably just way overtired and are collectively hallucinating."

Azula raised her eyebrow this time. "While that sounds like an interesting theory, I think an investigation is in order…" Her eyes fell on the apparition, and she smiled slowly. "And perhaps an eradication as well."

"Oooh," Ty Lee clapped her hands together. "Exciting!"

"Whatever," Mai shrugged. "As long as it's entertaining."

Carefully, the trio walked towards the flickering light, watching as the figure walked deeper into the decimated came and knelt down a few times. When they got closer, it was easier to make out the details of the person they were dealing with.

For starters, she was short. Shorter than Ty Lee, and she was also slight and delicate looking. Her armour and cloak hid these details from afar, but up close it was obvious. When she turned to look at them, her eyes were _red_, a colour unlike any other, even more staggering than the orange hair. Even Azula, though she didn't show it, was surprised.

The woman - no, she was young, so _girl_ - stood up slowly, her eyes narrowed. Her mouth was a thin line, but it was turned up in a smile, almost as if she was expecting them. She held her hands at her sides, open-palmed, and her stance was casual; it was unlike any other stance they had seen before, on a bender or soldier alike.

"If you're here to take advantage, that's not going to happen," she said calmly, her voice strong and low. She spoke their language, but some of the words were strangely accented. "I only share with those who _help_."

Azula took a step forward. "You did some quick work, here," she said, ensuring her voice was clipped with a commanding undertone. "But I have to admit that I fail to see the point."

The girl shrugged, her smile widening. "It's fun."

Ty Lee and Mai exchanged glances. While there wasn't anything _off_ about the way she held herself, the girl seemed a little weird all the same. After all, who started fights with criminals for "fun"?

"I recognise a good firebender when I see one," Azula continued, deciding to ignore the answer the girl had offered. "Have you ever considered joining up with the army? The Fire Lord could use a good bender like you."

The smile faded. "Bender. I've heard that before. Is that what magic is called here?"

Mai and Ty Lee stared at each other. Mai rolled her eyes, and Ty Lee put a finger to her temple and slowly made a circle.

Azula blinked slowly. "It's what you are, isn't it? A firebender? There is no magic, here; bending is an innate skill, a martial art."

The red eyes narrowed. "That's not what I use," she said slowly. "What I use…it's not as powerful here…I can't seem to summon Shabranigdu's power as easily here, for some reason… I guess I should be surprised that I can do _this_ much…" her voice trailed off, sounding confused.

Azula blinked again slowly; the other two girls knew that when she did that, she was trying very hard not to show that she was bemused by something. They didn't blame her, really: what the girl had just said was nonsense.

"In any case, what are you fighting for?" Azula went on. "Surely you're not angry at the Fire Nation."

The girl's lips formed the words 'Fire Nation' silently, her eyes on Azula's. Mai had to admit she was impressed – a stranger, being able to met Azula's gaze dead-on without flinching? Even someone like her, who had known Azula for what felt like her whole life, had problems doing that sometimes.

But then something went wrong, somehow. Whatever Azula said seemed to have sparked something in the girl, because her eyes flared in fury. She held her hands out before her, shouting out the word, "_Fireball_!"

If the shout wasn't enough to scare the daylights out of the trio, the sudden burst of fire erupting from the girls hand - _without and sign of summoning it with form_ - was. Azula jumped back, almost crashing into Mai and Ty Lee, as the hot blast of flame careened towards them.

Azula calmly slid away from her two comrades, her body already dipping into a stance, her fingers clawed as she traced a form with her arms. She threw her hand out, her legs apart, and an orb of blue fire thrust out in reply to the girl's, fast, white-hot, and seemingly unstoppable.

The girl jumped back, threw up her hands, and shouted something incomprehensible to the others. Something flashed, a translucent white colour, and seemed to take the shape of a window-pane of sorts. To their surprise, Azula's fireball crashed into it and vanished.

"What was _that_?" both the girl and Azula snapped out, facing each other, tension turning the cool night air sour.

"Wow," Ty Lee whispered. "That was…_wow_."

"You think I _want_ to be here, in this place, without my friends?" the girl snapped out, her hands still held before her. "I didn't ask to be dragged here, and I didn't ask to be forced to stay! So yeah, I have a problem with this place, this 'Fire Nation', wherever the hell this is!"

Azula's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Your name," she said, "what is it?"

The girl smirked. "Lina Inverse," she answered. "But I don't expect you to know who I am. No one does."

Mai blinked. "That's the strangest name I've ever heard," she admitted.

Ty Lee put a hand to her chin, thinking. "Well, the 'Lina' part is normal enough, but…" and here she struggled on the sounds of the last name. "'Inverse'? That's bizarre."

"Could you two please stop being the peanut gallery and _cover me_?" Azula snapped, her patience wearing thin, especially since her attempt at recruiting the girl backfired.

"Whatever," Mai answered. She took a few steps forward, eyes locked on Lina, and then just _threw_ her arms out, releasing a half-dozen shuriken from between her fingers. She was expecting to at least nail the girl once, but she was fast, and managed to dart out of the way, the blades sinking harmlessly into the ground where she had stood.

Ty Lee lunged forward, seeing an opening, and held out one hand, her fingers clawed. She figured that if the girl was a bender, then she probably wasn't too good at hand-to-hand, and her chi could be blocked. Lina reached behind her back and pulled out a dagger, of all things, holding it out towards Ty Lee and taking a few steps back. Ty Lee skittered to a halt, regrouping herself, then leapt up and to the left, trying to unbalance Lina and throw her off-guard.

However, it seemed that Lina _did_ have some experience fighting non-benders, for she hunched down, bending her knees low, and thrust her dagger up with a shout, aiming for Ty Lee's outstretched fingers. With a yelp, the other girl veered in mid-air, snatching her hand back before the blade made contact, throwing _herself_ off-balance instead. She crashed into the soot-covered dirt with a grunt, before leaping to her feet once more.

Lina smirked, standing up to her full height and gesturing for Ty Lee to come at her.

Mai decided that this was a good time to try and attack again. She flicked her wrist, a few of her knives meeting her fingers, and she threw them, aiming for Lina's long cloak. One or two snagged it and pinned it to the dirt, but Lina simply reached backwards and _hacked the cloak free with her dagger_.

Mai was impressed, quite honestly.

Azula seemed to notice that perhaps her comrades weren't doing as well as she had hoped. As soon as Lina was free from Mai's grasp, Azula rushed forward towards her, closing the distance and reaching out with clawed fingers. Blue fire licked along her hands, and with careful precision, she thrust them out and unleashed dual jets of the stuff towards the other firebender.

Lina shouted out in surprise, staggering backwards and holding up her hands. Her shout was without words, and her form was sloppy and didn't bring up any flame to defend herself with. The shockwave of Azula's white-hot fire knocked her back, but not for long: she was singed but back on her feet in a moment.

"We really don't have to fight, you know," Azula said, her voice silky. "But you threw the first punch. Admit you're outmatched, and we can end this peacefully and you can join me on my way back to the capitol."

It wasn't an invitation, and Lina obviously knew this. She suddenly leaped back, held her hands as if she was holding a bow and arrow, and shouted out the words, "_Flare Arrow!_" A faint shape of an actual bow-and-arrow, outlined in orange, briefly took shape, only to leave the arrow behind. With precision, Lina drew her hand back, then let go of the arrow. It snaked through the air.

Azula leaned back on one foot, leaning back into a crouching pose for a moment, before leaping up and throwing one leg out, a jet of blue light bursting out from the sole of her foot. The two fire bursts crashed into each other, resulting in sparks that seemed to sparkle in the air.

Ty Lee was delighted by this. Mai simply looked at her nails.

Azula looked right into Lina's eyes, unable to mask the look of surprise. "Your bending is, I have to say, incredibly interesting. I've never seen anything like it."

"It's _magic_," Lina snarled. "It's not whatever that is. It's shamanistic magic, taking power from the elements in exchange for energy."

"Sounds like bending to me," Mai interjected.

"Except that you use _words_," Azula continued, her arms crossed, a small smile on her lips. "Instead of using martial art forms, you shout out words, evoke whatever you want, and it appears."

Lina put her hands on her hips. "It's not anything I want, it's whatever I learned."

"Oh? You mean it's not something you're born with?"

"The affinity for magic is. But you have to learn it from books or teachers."

Azula was visibly interested now. "Really? Do you think you could teach me?"

Lina seemed to be taken aback. "What?"

"Teach me. I want to learn. And in return I can try and teach you bending."

Lina seemed to consider, licking her lips. Mai and Ty Lee exchanged glances, sharing the same thought: _Both of the girls craved knowledge and strength, as well as having several wildcards to use in reserve…_

Lina, however, was an opportunist. From what she had revealed, she was in the Fire Nation against her will, and was just trying to get through the days. Now she had a chance to learn while being stuck. Might as well take it.

"Deal," she said, holding out a hand. Azula blinked again, in that same confused way, before holding her hands before her politely and giving a short bow. Lina tilted her head, but withdrew her hand, awkwardly trying to follow suit.

Ty Lee and Mai stared at each other, especially when Azula and Lina started walking together, heads bent close as they spoke softly. It seemed almost…ominous, this new partnership.


End file.
